By Christopher David<\/p>\n
As a band with a vested interest in horror and all things creepy, it\u2019s a challenge to nail down a sound that effectively communicates that atmosphere without becoming a bit silly. On the Chicago stop of their second tour behind 2015\u2019s The Night Creeper<\/em>, Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats proved that they\u2019ve cracked that code.<\/p>\n Shifting focus away from the new album a bit this time around to give all four of their records a fair shake, the British quartet opened with \u201cMt. Abraxas\u201d from 2013\u2019s Mind Control, complete with a new backdrop featuring a bloody mountain-scape, harkening back to the imagery from that record and visiting \u201cMind Crawler\u201d right off the top as well. While the focus was squarely on Creeper<\/em> and its serial killer tale last September, that record was only touched upon Tuesday night, with singles \u201cMelody Lane\u201d and \u201cPusher Man\u201d drawing some of the strongest reception of the evening.\u00a0\u00a0 The biggest curveball came early in the set when the band pulled out \u201cDead Eyes of London\u201d from their long out-of-print 2010 debut Volume 1<\/em>, to the delight of diehards in every corner of the room.<\/p>\n From a performance standpoint, the band has grown over the course of the Night Creeper<\/em> world tour.\u00a0\u00a0 Singer\/guitarist Kevin Starrs had a more commanding presence, delivering some blazing leads with more urgency and intensity than ever before, showcasing the band\u2019s position squarely in the \u2018doom rock\u2019 camp with main set closer \u201cSlow Death\u201d and offering some thick, driving guitar work on Creeper\u2019<\/em>s opening track \u201cWaiting for Blood.\u201d The varied set showed off just how effectively the band has grown; tunes from 2011\u2019s Blood Lust<\/em> were right at home next to newer material, and the band hasn\u2019t strayed far from the eerie harmony-vocal and hypnotic, Sabbath-crunch that brought them attention in the first place.\u00a0\u00a0 Here\u2019s hoping they don\u2019t\u2014sometimes, owning a style is the best path forward, and Uncle Acid has more than owned the Metro stage on this go-round.<\/p>\n For more on Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats, click here<\/a><\/p>\n